Citizens Bank announced plans to end its financial relationship with private prison giants CoreCivic and The GEO Group.
Citizens Bank announced it will wind down its financial ties with CoreCivic and The GEO Group, the two largest private detention operators in the United States. The move follows a period of intense public pressure from advocates and local governments who criticized the bank for financing private facilities used by the administration to house illegal immigrants. Under the administration, both companies have been contracted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate detention and deportation centers. While the bank attributed the decision to changing commercial circumstances and reduced financing needs, the move follows a successful campaign by the De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition. This pressure led municipalities like Montclair and Jersey City to divest their funds from the bank to avoid being complicit in the private prison industry. Citizens Bank stated that the decision was a business move rather than a response to political ideology. The bank noted that the federal government plans to purchase several CoreCivic facilities and is currently in talks to acquire others from The GEO Group.